Inflatable Air Mattress System Architecture

ABSTRACT

A method may comprise receiving, at a central controller, a command, from a remote control, to adjust a feature of a first component of an air mattress framework; relaying, from the central controller, the command to the first component; receiving from the first component at the central controller, an indication of the success of the command; and relaying the indication from the central controller to the remote control.

CROSS-REFERENCES

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/230,086, filed on Dec. 21, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/211,367, filed on Mar. 14, 2014, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,201,234, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/781,503, filed on Mar. 14, 2013, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

The subject matter described in this application is related to subjectmatter disclosed in the following applications: U.S. Application Ser.No. 61/781,266 (Attorney Docket No. 3500.049PRV), filed on Mar. 14,2013, entitled “INFLATABLE AIR MATTRESS ALARM AND MONITORING SYSTEM”;U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/781,541 (Attorney Docket No. 3500.051PRV),filed on Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “INFLATABLE AIR MATTRESS AUTOFILL ANDOFF BED PRESSURE ADJUSTMENT”; U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/781,571(Attorney Docket No. 3500.052PRV), filed on Mar. 14, 2013, entitled“INFLATABLE MR MATTRESS SLEEP ENVIRONMENT ADJUSTMENT AND SUGGESTIONS”;U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/782,394 (Attorney Docket No. 3500.053PRV),filed on Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “INFLATABLE AIR MATTRESS SNORINGDETECTION AND RESPONSE”; U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/781,296 (AttorneyDocket No. 3500.054PRV), filed on Mar. 14, 2013, entitled “INFLATABLEAIR MATTRESS WITH LIGHT AND VOICE CONTROLS”; U.S. Application Ser. No.61/781,311 (Attorney Docket No. 3500.055PRV), filed on Mar. 14, 2013,entitled “INFLATABLE AIR MATTRESS SYSTEM WITH DETECTION TECHNIQUES.” Thecontents of each of the above-references U.S. patent applications areherein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent document pertains generally to network systems and moreparticularly, but not by way of limitation, to an inflatable airmattress system architecture.

BACKGROUND

In various examples, an air mattress control system allows a user toadjust the firmness or position of an air mattress bed. The mattress mayhave more than one zone thereby allowing a left and right side of themattress to be adjusted to different firmness levels. Additionally, thebed may be adjustable to different positions. For example, the headsection of the bed may be raised up while the foot section of the bedstays in place. In various examples, two separate remote controls areused to adjust the position and firmness, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an air bed system, accordingto an example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of various components of the air bed system ofFIG. 1, according to an example.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an air bed system architecture, accordingto an example.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of machine in the example form of a computersystem within which a set instructions, for causing the machine toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may beexecuted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of air bed system 10 in anexample embodiment. System 10 may include bed 12, which may comprise atleast one air chamber 14 surrounded by a resilient border 16 andencapsulated by bed ticking 18. The resilient border 16 may comprise anysuitable material, such as foam.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, bed 12 may be a two chamber design having afirst air chamber 14A and a second air chamber 14B. First and second airchambers 14A and 14B may be in fluid communication with pump 20. Pump 20may be in electrical communication with a remote control 22 via controlbox 24. Remote control 22 may communicate via wired or wireless meanswith control box 24. Control box 24 may be configured to operate pump 20to cause increases and decreases in the fluid pressure of first andsecond air chambers 14A and 14B based upon commands input by a userthrough remote control 22. Remote control 22 may include display 26,output selecting means 28, pressure increase button 29, and pressuredecrease button 30. Output selecting means 28 may allow the user toswitch the pump output between the first and second air chambers 14A and14B, thus enabling control of multiple air chambers with a single remotecontrol 22. For example, output selecting means may by a physicalcontrol (e.g., switch or button) or an input control displayed ondisplay 26. Alternatively, separate remote control units may be providedfor each air chamber and may each include the ability to controlmultiple air chambers. Pressure increase and decrease buttons 29 and 30may allow a user to increase or decrease the pressure, respectively, inthe air chamber selected with the output selecting means 28. Adjustingthe pressure within the selected air chamber may cause a correspondingadjustment to the firmness of the air chamber.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram detailing data communication between certaincomponents of air bed system 10 according to various examples. As shownin FIG. 2, control box 24 may include power supply 34, processor 36,memory 37, switching means 38, and analog to digital (A/D) converter 40.Switching means 38 may be, for example, a relay or a solid state switch.Switching means 38 may be located in the pump 20 rather than the controlbox 24.

Pump 20 and remote control 22 may be in two-way communication with thecontrol box 24. Pump 20 may include a motor 42, a pump manifold 43, arelief valve 44, a first control valve 45A, a second control valve 45B,and a pressure transducer 46, and may be fluidly connected with thefirst air chamber 14A and the second air chamber 14B via a first tube48A and a second tube 48B, respectively. First and second control valves45A and 45B may be controlled by switching means 38, and may be operableto regulate the flow of fluid between pump 20 and first and second airchambers 14A and 14B, respectively.

In an example, pump 20 and control box 24 may be provided and packagedas a single unit. Alternatively, pump 20 and control box 24 may beprovided as physically separate units.

In operation, power supply 34 may receive power, such as 110 VAC power,from an external source and may convert the power to various formsrequired by certain components of the air bed system 10. Processor 36may be used to control various logic sequences associated with operationof the air bed system 10, as will be discussed in further detail below.

The example of the air bed system 10 shown in FIG. 2 contemplates twoair chambers 14A and 14B and a single pump 20. However, other examplesmay include an air bed system having two or more air chambers and one ormore pumps incorporated into the air bed system to control the airchambers. In an example, a separate pump may be associated with each airchamber of the air bed system or a pump may be associated with multiplechambers of the air bed system. Separate pumps may allow each airchamber to be inflated or deflated independently and simultaneously.Furthermore, additional pressure transducers may also be incorporatedinto the air bed system such that, for example, a separate pressuretransducer may be associated with each air chamber.

In the event that the processor 36 sends a decrease pressure command toone of air chambers 14A or 14B, switching means 38 may be used toconvert the low voltage command signals sent by processor 36 to higheroperating voltages sufficient to operate relief valve 44 of pump 20 andopen control valves 45A or 45B. Opening relief valve 44 may allow air toescape from air chamber 14A or 14B through the respective air tube 48Aor 48B. During deflation, pressure transducer 46 may send pressurereadings to processor 36 via the A/D converter 40. The A/D converter 40may receive analog information from pressure transducer 46 and mayconvert the analog information to digital information useable byprocessor 36. Processor 36 may send the digital signal to remote control22 to update display 26 on the remote control in order to convey thepressure information to the user.

In the event that processor 36 sends an increase pressure command, pumpmotor 42 may be energized, sending air to the designated air chamberthrough air tube 48A or 48B via electronically operating correspondingvalve 45A or 45B. While air is being delivered to the designated airchamber in order to increase the firmness of the chamber, pressuretransducer 46 may sense pressure within pump manifold 43. Again,pressure transducer 46 may send pressure readings to processor 36 viaA/D converter 40. Processor 36 may use the information received from A/Dconverter 40 to determine the difference between the actual pressure inair chamber 14A or 14B and the desired pressure. Processor 36 may sendthe digital signal to remote control 22 to update display 26 on theremote control in order to convey the pressure information to the user.

Generally speaking, during an inflation or deflation process, thepressure sensed within pump manifold 43 provides an approximation of thepressure within the air chamber. An example method of obtaining a pumpmanifold pressure reading that is substantially equivalent to the actualpressure within an air chamber is to turn off pump 20, allow thepressure within the air chamber 14A or 14B and pump manifold 43 toequalize, and then sense the pressure within pump manifold 43 withpressure transducer 46. Thus, providing a sufficient amount of time toallow the pressures within pump manifold 43 and chamber 14A or 14B toequalize may result in pressure readings that are accurateapproximations of the actual pressure within air chamber 14A or 14B. Invarious examples, the pressure of 48A/B is continuously monitored usingmultiple pressure sensors.

In an example, another method of obtaining a pump manifold pressurereading that is substantially equivalent to the actual pressure withinan air chamber is through the use of a pressure adjustment algorithm. Ingeneral, the method may function by approximating the air chamberpressure based upon a mathematical relationship between the air chamberpressure and the pressure measured within pump manifold 43 (during bothan inflation cycle and a deflation cycle), thereby eliminating the needto turn off pump 20 in order to obtain a substantially accurateapproximation of the air chamber pressure. As a result, a desiredpressure setpoint within air chamber 14A or 14B may be achieved withoutthe need for turning pump 20 off to allow the pressures to equalize. Thelatter method of approximating an air chamber pressure usingmathematical relationships between the air chamber pressure and the pumpmanifold pressure is described in detail in U.S. application Ser. No.12/936,084, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 3 is illustrates an example air bed system architecture 300.Architecture 300 includes bed 301, central controller 302, firmnesscontroller 304, articulation controller 306, temperature controller 308,external network device 310, remote controllers 312, 314, and voicecontroller 316. While described as using an air bed, the systemarchitecture may also be used with other types of beds.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, network bed architecture 300 is configured asa star topology with central controller 302 and firmness controller 304functioning as the hub and articulation controller 306, temperaturecontroller 308, external network device 310, remote controls 312, 314,and voice controller 316 functioning as possible spokes, also referredto herein as components. Thus, in various examples, central controller302 acts a relay between the various components.

In other examples, different topologies may be used. For example, thecomponents and central controller 302 may be configured as a meshnetwork in which each component may communicate with one or all of theother components directly, bypassing central controller 302. In variousexamples, a combination of topologies may be used. For example, remotecontroller 312 may communicate directly to temperature controller 308but also relay the communication to central controller 302.

In yet another example, central controller 302 listens to communications(e.g., control signals) between components even if the communication isnot being relayed through central controller 302. For example, considera user sending a command using remote 312 to temperature controller 308.Central controller 302 may listen for the command and check to determineif instructions are stored at central controller 302 to override thecommand (e.g., it conflicts with a previous setting). Central controller302 may also log the command for future use (e.g., determining a patternof user preferences for the components).

In various examples, the controllers and devices illustrated in FIG. 3may each include a processor, a storage device, and a network interface.The processor may be a general purpose central processing unit (CPU) orapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The storage device mayinclude volatile or non-volatile static storage (e.g., Flash memory,RAM, EPROM, etc.). The storage device may store instructions which, whenexecuted by the processor, configure the processor to perform thefunctionality described herein. For example, a processor of firmnesscontrol 304 may be configured to send a command to a relief valve todecrease the pressure in a bed.

In various examples, the network interface of the components may beconfigured to transmit and receive communications in a variety of wiredand wireless protocols. For example, the network interface may beconfigured to use the 802.11 standards (e.g., 802.11a/b/c/g/n/ac), PANnetwork standards such as 802.15.4 or Bluetooth, infrared, cellularstandards (e.g., 3G/4G etc.), Ethernet, and USB for receiving andtransmitting data. The previous list is not intended to exhaustive andother protocols may be used. Not all components of FIG. 3 need to beconfigured to use the same protocols. For example, remote control 312may communicate with central controller 302 via Bluetooth whiletemperature controller 308 and articulation controller 306 are connectedto central controller using 802.15.4. Within FIG. 3, the lightningconnectors represent wireless connections and the solid lines representwired connections, however, the connections between the components isnot limited to such connections and each connection may be wired orwireless.

Moreover, in various examples, the processor, storage device, andnetwork interface of a component may be located in different locationsthan various elements used to effect a command. For example, as in FIG.1, firmness controller 302 may have a pump that is housed in a separateenclosure than the processor used to control the pump. Similarseparation of elements may be employed for the other controllers anddevices in FIG. 3.

In various examples, firmness controller 304 is configured to regulatepressure in an air mattress. For example, firmness controller 304 mayinclude a pump such as described with reference to FIG. 2 (see e.g.,pump 20). Thus, in an example, firmness controller 304 may respond tocommands to increase or decrease pressure in the air mattress. Thecommands may be received from another component or based on storedapplication instruction that are part of firmness controller 304.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 central controller 302 includes firmnesscontroller 304. Thus, in an example, the processor of central controller302 and firmness control 304 may be the same processor. Furthermore, thepump may also be part of central controller 302. Accordingly, centralcontroller 302 may be responsible for pressure regulation as well asother functionality as described in further portions of this disclosure.

In various examples, articulation controller 306 is configured to adjustthe position of a bed (e.g., bed 301) by adjusting the foundation thatsupports the bed. In an example, separate positions may be set for twodifferent beds (e.g., two twin beds placed next to each other). Thefoundation may include more than one zone that may be independentlyadjusted. Articulation control 306 may also be configured to providedifferent levels of massage to a person on the bed.

In various examples, temperature controller 308 is configured toincrease, decrease, or maintain the temperature of a user. For example,a pad may be placed on top of or be part of the air mattress. Air may bepushed through the pad and vented to cool off a user of the bed.Conversely, the pad may include a heating element that may be used tokeep the user warm. In various examples, temperature controller 308receives temperature readings from the pad.

In various examples, additional controllers may communicate with centralcontroller 302. These controllers may include, but are not limited to,illumination controllers for turning on and off light elements placed onand around the bed and outlet controllers for controlling power to oneor more power outlets.

In various examples, external network device 310, remote controllers312, 314 and voice controller 316 may be used to input commands (e.g.,from a user or remote system) to control one or more components ofarchitecture 300. The commands may be transmitted from one of thecontrollers 312, 314, or 316 and received in central controller 302.Central controller 302 may process the command to determine theappropriate component to route the received command. For example, eachcommand sent via one of controllers 312, 314, or 316 may include aheader or other metadata that indicates which component the command isfor. Central controller 302 may then transmit the command via centralcontroller 302's network interface to the appropriate component.

For example, a user may input a desired temperature for the user's bedinto remote control 312. The desired temperature may be encapsulated ina command data structure that includes the temperature as well asidentifies temperature controller 308 as the desired component to becontrolled. The command data structure may then be transmitted viaBluetooth to central controller 302. In various examples, the commanddata structure is encrypted before being transmitted. Central controller302 may parse the command data structure and relay the command totemperature controller 308 using a PAN. Temperature controller 308 maybe then configure its elements to increase or decrease the temperatureof the pad depending on the temperature originally input into remotecontrol 312.

In various examples, data may be transmitted from a component back toone or more of the remote controls. For example, the current temperatureas determined by a sensor element of temperature controller 308, thepressure of the bed, the current position of the foundation or otherinformation may be transmitted to central controller 302. Centralcontroller 302 may then transmit the received information and transmitit to remote control 312 where it may be displayed to the user.

In various examples, multiple types of devices may be used to inputcommands to control the components of architecture 300. For example,remote control 312 may be a mobile device such as a smart phone ortablet computer running an application. Other examples of remote control312 may include a dedicated device for interacting with the componentsdescribed herein. In various examples, remote controls 312/314 include adisplay device for displaying an interface to a user. Remote control312/314 may also include one or more input devices. Input devices mayinclude, but are not limited to, keypads, touchscreen, gesture, motionand voice controls.

Remote control 314 may be a single component remote configured tointeract with one component of the mattress architecture. For example,remote control 314 may be configured to accept inputs to increase ordecrease the air mattress pressure. Voice controller 316 may beconfigured to accept voice commands to control one or more components.In various examples, more than one of the remote controls 312/314 andvoice controller 316 may be used.

With respect to remote control 312, the application may be configured topair with one or more central controllers. For each central controller,data may be transmitted to the mobile device that includes a list ofcomponents linked with the central controller. For example, considerthat remote control 312 is a mobile phone and that the application hasbeen authenticated and paired with central controller 302. Remotecontrol 312 may transmit a discovery request to central controller 302to inquiry about other components and available services. In response,central controller 302 may transmit a list of services that includesavailable functions for adjusting the firmness of the bed, position ofthe bed, and temperature of the bed. In various embodiments, theapplication may then display functions for increasing/decreasingpressure of the air mattress, adjusting positions of the bed, andadjusting temperature. If components are added/removed to thearchitecture under control of central controller 302, an updated listmay be transmitted to remote control 312 and the interface of theapplication may be adjusted accordingly.

In various examples, central controller 302 is configured to analyzedata collected by a pressure transducer (e.g., transducer 46 withrespect to FIG. 2) to determine various states of a person lying on thebed. For example, central controller 302 may determine the heart rate orrespiration rate of a person lying in the bed. Additional processing maybe done using the collected data to determine a possible sleep state ofthe person. For example, central controller 302 may determine when aperson falls asleep and, while asleep, the various sleep states of theperson.

In various examples, external network device 310 includes a networkinterface to interact with an external server for processing and storageof data related to components in architecture 300. For example, thedetermined sleep data as described above may be transmitted via anetwork (e.g., the Internet) from central controller 302 to externalnetwork device 310 for storage. In an example, the pressure transducerdata may be transmitted to the external server for additional analysis.The external network device 310 may also analyze and filter the databefore transmitting it to the external server.

In an example, diagnostic data of the components may also be routed toexternal network device 310 for storage and diagnosis on the externalserver. For example, if temperature controller 308 detects an abnormaltemperature reading (e.g., a drop in temperature over one minute thatexceeds a set threshold) diagnostic data (sensor readings, currentsettings, etc.) may be wireless transmitted from temperature controller308 to central controller 302. Central controller 302 may then transmitthis data via USB to external network device 310. External device 310may wirelessly transmit the information to an WLAN access point where itis routed to the external server for analysis.

Example Machine Architecture and Machine-Readable Medium

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of machine in the example form of a computersystem 400 within which instructions, for causing the machine to performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 400 includes a processor 402 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), ASIC ora combination), a main memory 404 and a static memory 406, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 408. The computer system 400 mayfurther include a video display unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 400 alsoincludes an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard,touchscreen), a user interface (UI) navigation device 414 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 416, a signal generation device 418 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 420.

Machine-Readable Medium

The disk drive unit 416 includes a machine-readable medium 422 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,software) 424 embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 424 mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory404 and/or within the processor 402 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 400, the main memory 404 and the processor 402 alsoconstituting machine-readable media.

While the machine-readable medium 422 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include asingle medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one ormore instructions or data structures. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any tangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention, or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with suchinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, andoptical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable mediainclude non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductormemory devices, e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

Transmission Medium

The instructions 424 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 426 using a transmission medium. The instructions424 may be transmitted using the network interface device 420 and anyone of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP). Examplesof communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a widearea network (“WAN”), the Internet, mobile telephone networks, Plain OldTelephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., WiFi andWiMax networks). The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine, and includes digitalor analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitatecommunication of such software.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof, show by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. As itcommon, the terms “a” and “an” may refer to one or more unless otherwiseindicated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a centralcontroller, a command, from a remote control, to adjust a feature of afirst component of an air mattress framework; relaying, from the centralcontroller, the command to the first component; receiving from the firstcomponent at the central controller, an indication of the success of thecommand; and relaying the indication from the central controller to theremote control.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote controlcannot communicate directly with the first component.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: receiving, at the central controller, acommand, from a remote control, to adjust a feature of a secondcomponent of the air mattress framework; relaying from the centralcontroller the command to adjust the feature of the second component tothe second component, wherein the first component and second componentare not directly communicatively coupled.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, at the central controller, an indicationof a failure of the first component; requesting, from the centralcontroller, diagnostic data from the first component; receiving, fromthe first component, the diagnostic data in response to the request; andrelaying the diagnostic data from the central controller to an externalnetwork device.